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Maritime Festivals on Germany’s Coasts

In the last third of the 20th century there has been an astonishing Renaissance of the windjammer and traditional tall ships; a movement which has lasted without diminishing until today.

A dozen windjammer and harbor festivals have been the stage for full-rigged ships, barkentines or schooners, attracting millions of enthusiastic visitors who come to see sailing sport of the highest quality, whether it be in Kiel or in Warnemünde.

In northern Germany there are six large maritime festivals celebrated from the beginning of May until the end of August , presenting a chain of festive events on the North and Baltic Sea coasts. In chronological order they are:  the Hamburg Port Anniversary (Hafengeburtstag Hamburg), Kiel Week (Kieler Woche), the weekend on the Jade in Wilhelmshaven (Wochenende an der Jade Wilhelmshaven), the Warnemünder Week (Warnemünder Woche), the Hanse Sail Rostock and Sail Bremerhaven.

Lovers of old sailing ships and of sporty regattas will find the entire spectrum of both historical and current aspects of sailing, often accompanied by museum steamships and cruise ships.  For a weekend, or, in some cases, for more than a week, the quay and the harbors of these cities are turned into an idyllic backdrop of maritime folk festivals, which are a distinguishing feature for the North of Germany.

This includes the maritime festivals that have only become established in the past 20 years since German reunification, showing the oft-hidden attractions of the coast and inland areas. These partners are the Müritz-Sail in Waren, the Lagoon Sail (Haff-Sail) in Ueckermünde, Wismar’s Harbor Days (Wismarer Hafentage), as well as the Zeesen-boat (brown-sailed fishing boat) regatta (Zeesenboot-Regatta) and the harbor festival (Hagentage), which both take place in the Baltic Coast town of Dierhagen. Since 2014, the Husum Harbour days (Husumer Hafentage) expand the network.

The so-called “hanseboot” tradeshow (hanseboot ancora boat show) is one of the partners of the eleven festivals on the North and Baltic Sea. This maritime trade fair, which takes place each autumn in the city of Hamburg, is one of the largest in northern Europe and offers visitors information about the coming sailing season;  traditional and sporty aspects … or both.

Welcome to the »Maritime Festivals on Germany’s Coasts«!